1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to an optical device, a method of manufacturing the optical device, an optical device adaptor, and an optical component stopper, and more particularly, to an optical device that has two optical components coupled to each other with a lens, a method of manufacturing such an optical device, an adaptor for such an optical device, and an optical component stopper.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, optical devices have been widely used in the fields of optical communications and household appliances. An example of such optical devices is a device that has two optical components coupled to each other with a lens. Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 60-138506 discloses a light receiving module (hereinafter referred to as the “prior art”) as an optical device that has an optical fiber and a light receiving element coupled to each other with a lens (see FIG. 3 of the document). So as to prevent light reflection from the end face of an optical fiber, the prior art includes an optical fiber (a first optical component) that an the end face oblique with respect to a plane perpendicular to an optical axis, a light receiving element (a second optical component) that receives light emitted from the optical fiber, and a lens that is placed between the optical fiber and the light receiving element so that the light emitted from the optical fiber is focused on the light receiving element. The light receiving face of the light receiving element is oblique with respect to the plane perpendicular to the optical axis. This is to prevent the light emitted from the optical fiber from being reflected by the light receiving face of the light receiving element and returning to the optical fiber.
In the prior art, however, the inclination of the end face of the optical fiber, or the rotational angle of the optical fiber with respect to the optical axis, needs to be precisely adjusted so as to maintain invariable coupling between the optical fiber and the light receiving element. The rotational angle of the optical component to which the optical fiber is attached is determined by the rotational angle of the optical fiber. As a result, the degree of freedom is reduced in terms of design. Furthermore, precise assembling needs to be performed so as to determine the rotational angle of the optical fiber, resulting in an increase in production cost.